For the islamic state, beating America may not be the most important.

Defense secretary Chuck Hagel recently spoke about militants linked to the islamic state, also known as the islamic state or islamic state. He made them sound ten feet tall.

“Isil is as mature and well-funded as any group we have ever seen,” he said. “They are not just a terrorist group, they are a combination of ideology, strategic and tactical military strength, and deep pockets, which is beyond what we see.

Audrey Kurth Cronin, a professor and terrorism expert at George Mason University, is more optimistic. “When we say that ISIS is unprecedented in all of these areas, I think we are exaggerating,” she said. “It is absolutely dangerous, but it is not the first group to hold territory, nor is it the only group that directly threatens or kills americans.

“Terrorist attacks are not necessarily related to the amount of resources a group can hold,” she said. “So far, at least, many of the westerners they have attracted have been fighting well in Iraq and Syria.”

More than 140 U.S. passport holders are believed to have left the United States to fight in Syria. I’m afraid some terrorists might return to the United States. At least three americans died on the battlefield.

“Some people think that the islamic state has a home address, and the islamic state wants to develop the caliphate, which makes them less capable and less likely to attack the United States,” she said. “You know, when you think about the fact that they have a lot of resources, it’s very expensive to manage.”

Bruce Hoffman, head of security research at Georgetown university, said the team could not be seen as a local group with local goals.

“Now the question is, because we upgrade, what will they do?” He said. “Will they upgrade? What upgrades will they see? Somewhere in their calculus, they had to attack American interests somewhere.

The attacks don’t need much: think of the Boston marathon bombing. A local teenager, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, was charged with the attack, killing three people and injuring hundreds more. Finally, the Boston city was dragged for several days with just a few crude oil bombs.

Mr. Hoffman said the islamic state could choose a simple attack that would be easier to cancel. “Terrorist organizations don’t like to fail,” he said. “They want to organize as many factors as possible for them to ensure their success. In this sense, the islamic countries, of course, watching the United States, and desperately trying to make a hit, I think, will be a stretch – or a person hope it will be a stretch. ”

President Obama told reporters at the White House Thursday that he has asked officials to prepare a series of U.S. military options to confront the islamic state, but said the strategy is still in the planning stages. Cronin worries that the United States is turning the organization into something bigger than reality.

“In a way, the next step for ISIS depends on our response,” she said. “And if we’re talking about what’s a huge threat and we’re digitizing them, eventually, even unconsciously, help them.”